1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to apparel resistant to particular materials or environmental conditions, including so-called xe2x80x9cdry suitsxe2x80x9d and wet suits for diving, full-body sealed suits and the like used for protection from hazardous materials, fire-fighting apparel, and xe2x80x9ccleanroomxe2x80x9d clothing. More particularly, the invention pertains to methods and means for cleaning, drying and maintaining the inside of such exposure suits following use.
2. State of the Art
Free underwater diving and swimming using Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA devices) have become very popular receational pursuits, and have been used for many years in commercial and military applications. Diving without protective wear can be very hazardous, because of cold water, razor-sharp coral formations, contaminated environments, sunken debris, poisonous life forms and the like. Thus, so-called xe2x80x9cwet suitsxe2x80x9d have been in wide use for many years. A wet suit covers a substantial portion of a diver""s body, but permits entry of water to contact the diver""s skin. The insulative value of the wet suit is limited, and diving in cold waters results in discomfort, fatigue and added stress.
For enhanced comfort and safety, the xe2x80x9cwet suitxe2x80x9d is being replaced by the more expensive so-called xe2x80x9cdry suitxe2x80x9d, which is designed to prevent water access next to at least a major portion of the diver""s skin. The dry suit has a neck opening which may be sealed by pressure of a neck membrane against the diver""s neck. Although some dry suits are configured to enclose all of the wearer""s body except a hard hat, others may leave the hands and/or feet either exposed, or coverable by xe2x80x9cwetxe2x80x9d coverings or xe2x80x9cdryxe2x80x9d coverings such as e.g. soft soled xe2x80x9csocksxe2x80x9d or hard-soled xe2x80x9cbootsxe2x80x9d. Dry hand or foot coverings are configured to be sealed against leakage. Generally, entry into a dry suit is via an opening closable with an essentially water-tight zipper. Often, a dry suit for diving is configured to totally enclose the diver""s feet, while non-footed dry suits may be more frequently used for water skiing, surfing, kayaking, etc.
Although the term xe2x80x9cdry suitxe2x80x9d generally refers to a suit used in water, similar suits are used to protect persons in other environments, i.e. to protect a person from exposure to hazardous materials (HAZ MAT suits) including chemical and biological materials. Similar wear is used by firemen as protection against exposure to heat, water, etc. In sterile, explosive, or xe2x80x9ccleanxe2x80x9d environments , suits similar to xe2x80x9cdry suitsxe2x80x9d are used to prevent contamination of the environment, or to prevent static electricity discharges by the entry of persons.
One of the problems with dry suits and similar apparel is that during use, perspiration and condensation become entrapped within the suit. Other moisture may be introduced into a dry suit by improper use of an exhaust valve or from inadvertent flooding, particularly in a diving situation. It is important to drain and wash the interior of a dry suit following use to remove perspiration and other contaminants. After a dive, commercial divers typically rinse the interior of the dry suit with an anti-fungicide, followed by three or four rinses with fresh water. However, the interior surfaces may remain wet for the next user, and may become malodorous and slimy.
With any suit whose interior is exposed to water, perspiration and/or other contaminants, removing the moisture quickly and completely after use is important to proper maintenance of the suit. Rapid drying (a) avoids growth of malodorous and destructive molds and bacteria, (b) prevents premature deterioration of the suit, and (c) permits comfortable subsequent use. A short drying time is not only necessary for cleanliness, suit preservation and wearer comfort, but increases the available use time as well. For example, donning a dry suit which has wet interior surfaces is very uncomfortable, and is counter to the purposes of a dry suit.
In order to simply drain water from a dry suit, the suit is typically hung head down on a commercially obtainable hanger. Use of such hangers does not readily permit removal of creases from the suit; instead, water typically remains trapped in the creases and takes a very long time to drain or evaporate. For this reason, it has been found very important to remove creases in the dry suit material.
At the present time, various hangers are available which suspend the dry suit from its ankles, for draining water through the neck and wrist openings. The hanger constricts the ankle portions of the suit, preventing passage of moisture from the foot spaces. Hanging a dry suit by the neck opening is also done, but the presence of major air-stagnant spaces in the legs and arms of the dry suit require much extended drying times. Expected drying times may be as short as a few hours in hot, dry climates, or as long as days. In humid areas, the drying time may be considerably longer, and the dry suit may never become fully dry. As already indicated, prior art hangers do not satisfactorily stretch the dry suit to remove wrinkles or creases, and water remains entrapped in the suit between creases.
Regardless of the position in which the dry suit is hung for drying, there is little if any air movement within the suit, and rapid growth of mold and bacteria ensues. In addition to the unpleasant odor, skin irritation and destructive nature of such growths to the dry suit, hazards to the health of the diver may also be presented.
Dry suits typically have stretchable seals at the neck and wrists and/or ankles which press against a diver""s skin to substantially prevent the entry of water. These seals are typically formed of rubber or latex, and must be tight enough about the diver""s neck and limbs to prevent water entry, yet not so tight as to cause vascular and respiratory restriction and/or panic (a life-threatening event in a diving situation). Once a seal is stretched, frequent use is required to maintain it in the stretched condition. Most dry suits purchased for recreational diving are used only a few times a year for a number of dives in quick succession. During intervening storage (months or years), the seals tend to return to their original un-stretched size. The neck seal, wrist seals and ankle seals of dry suits are typically pre-stretched by hand prior to each dive or dive series, or cut to size.
A large share of recreational diving (and subsequent suit drying) is done in geographical areas having high humidity, such as in or offshore the states of Florida and Washington. In such areas, rapid drying of diving suits using current procedures is nearly impossible.
The present invention is directed toward solving the above indicated problems associated with the use of dry suits, wet suits and other types of xe2x80x9cexposurexe2x80x9d suits which require drying or cleaning plus drying after being used.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus to remove interior moisture from an exposure suit in a very short time, to prevent the proliferation of fungi, bacteria, etc. and malodors associated therewith within the suit.
A further object of the invention is to provide methods and apparatus for conditioning and drying exposure suits for rapid turn-around use.
Another major object of the invention is to provide a method and means for initiating and maintaining the proper pre-stretched Ad size of neck seals, wrist seals and ankle seals of a e.g. dry suit.
An additional object of the invention is to provide apparatus and methods for cleaning and drying so-called xe2x80x9cwet suitsxe2x80x9d commonly used for diving.
A further object is to provide drying apparatus which is portable, and which may be used in a boat or land vehicle.
The invention comprises apparatus and methods for rapidly removing moisture from an xe2x80x9cexposurexe2x80x9d body suit such as a dry suit. While the invention is illustrated as being applied to a dry suit for diving, it may also be effectively used for drying any waterproof or water-resistant suit which has interior portions which cannot readily be opened to exposure to the ambient atmosphere. Examples of such varied applications of exposure suits, but not limited thereto, are those used for other water-based activities, for protection from hazardous (e.g. biohazardous) materials, for fire-fighting, and for processing of certain food, medicines or sensitive electronic equipment.
The dryer apparatus of this application may also be used for drying so-called xe2x80x9cwet suitsxe2x80x9d as will become evident in the disclosure. This application is directed to interior drying of any exposure suit which may become wetted with water, perspiration, environmental contaminants and the like.
The invention is particularly illustrated herein in application to the drying of a dry suit for diving. The apparatus and methods described may be adapted to drying of any exposure suit; such adaptations are described herein.
In general, the invention includes apparatus for compressing relatively dry air, optionally warming the air and introducing the air at such a rate into an exposure suit that the slight superatmospheric pressure expands, inflates and un-creases the dry suit. The dry air passes over the wet interior surfaces to dry them. The particular use of each of the various non-limiting embodiments which are presented depends largely upon the suit configuration, as follows:
a. whether the suit material is impervious or non-impervious to airflow;
b. whether foot portions of the suit are integrally formed with the suit, or are open;
c. the type of seals at the neck, hand (and foot) openings; and other factors which will be described herein.
In this method, a stream of relatively dry warm air is (a) directed under pressure from a blower through an opening in the dry suit, (b) passed through each of the arms, legs and torso portions of the suit to absorb moisture, and (c) discharged from the suit at an increased dew point temperature. In general, the drying step is preferably preceded by washing or rinsing the dry suit with water, chemically treated water, or other material. A chemical may optionally be injected into the air stream to contact and treat the drying or dried inner surfaces. The drying time is relatively short, i.e. a matter of minutes rather than hours or days.
Various exemplary embodiments of methods and apparatus of the invention to treat and dry xe2x80x9cdry suitsxe2x80x9d and other xe2x80x9cexposurexe2x80x9d suits are described hereinbelow.
When used in hot arid regions, warming of the ambient air may not be required to effectively dry the dry suit unless the suit is required to be completely dry in an extremely short time.
In addition, a method of this invention comprises the introduction of a chemical substance into the air stream to treat the interior of the dry suit. Such substances may comprise, for example, antifungal agents, antibacterial agents, and/or deodorants. The agents may be introduced into a liquid stream passed through the suit prior to rinsing and drying, or as a gas stream. An inert gas such as nitrogen may be passed through the dry suit. Optionally, and depending upon the resistance of the suit material to oxidation, an oxiding gas such as ozone may be used as an antibacterial/antifungal agent, passed through the suit for a short time period.
Various apparatus configurations for producing and conveying an air stream into a dry suit are shown and described. In a simple embodiment, a truncated conical neck insert may be tightly positioned in a neck seal opening, and a common hair dryer (modified to generate a higher pressure and an appropriate temperature) may be inserted into the neck insert to inject warm dry air. In another embodiment, a neck insert incorporates a blower (with optional heater) as an air source. In a preferred embodiment, a blower and heater upstream from the neck insert provide heated air. Optionally, the air may be introduced through a wrist insert or an ankle insert.
Another embodiment of the invention especially useful for simultaneously treating a plurality of dry suits comprises a permanent unit for heating, dehumidifying and pressurizing an air stream. The air is controllably distributed to a multi-duct bank for drying one or more dry suits simultaneously. The apparatus may include ducts to apparatus for dehumidifying, heating and recycling the wetted air or gas from the suits.
In a further embodiment of this invention, an air conduit is permanently integrally formed on/in the wall of the dry suit. A blower may be attached to the conduit for drying the dry suit. In still another embodiment, an attachment is provided for introducing a powder, liquid substance or gas into the air stream. In all cases, an insert is provided within each opening into the suit, i.e. wrist inserts, ankle inserts and/or neck insert. The insert(s) have openings for controlling the flow rate of xe2x80x9cwetxe2x80x9d air from each portion of the dry suit, and act to maintain a desired pressure within the dry suit. The apparatus may also be configured to pass a limited portion of the exit air through the neck insert.
The wrist inserts and neck insert are also useful to maintain properly stretched neck seal and wrist seals during prolonged storage.
The method and apparatus of the invention produce very rapid drying of the interior of a dry suit, enabling comfortable reuse in a short time, i.e. in generally less than about 0.4 hour, depending upon the humidity, temperature and flow rate of the drying air. The growth of deleterious mold and bacteria is prevented. The development of malodors is effectively prevented, and may be further avoided by the introduction of treatment agents into the drying air.